Georgian representatives raise sensitive issues at UNGA 74
By Levan Abramishvili
Friday, November 8
Deputy Permanent Representative of Georgia to the UN Elene Agladze delivered a statement at the UNGA General Debate on the Report of the Human Rights Council on November 1.
Agladze expressed appreciation on Georgia’s behalf to the President Coly Seck for presenting the Report and all his efforts aimed at increasing the efficiency of the work of the Council.
Highlighting the importance of protecting and promoting human rights and the role of the Human Rights Council (HRC), Georgian delegate stressed that the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) remains a key UN human rights mechanism to enable states to better evaluate and implement the necessary policies to improve and advance human rights.
She also reiterated Georgia’s full support to the special procedures mandate holders providing another effective tool in addressing specific circumstances. It was emphasized that Georgia gives particular importance to the application of the UN human rights system's treaty obligations and guidelines.
Georgian delegate also noted that the HRC's function can not be successful without the voice of civil society being heard and stressed the significance of the active participation of NGOs in the Council's work and its mechanisms.
Speaking on the HRC's country-specific resolutions, Agladze expressed concern about the ongoing human rights violations and abuse perpetrated by the Russian Federation against the people living in the occupied areas of Donbas in Ukraine and in the illegally annexed Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol.
Agladze particularly focused the attention on the Resolution on “Cooperation with Georgia” adopted within the 40th session of the HRC. She stressed that the resolution calls for immediate access to the occupied regions of Georgia by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other international and regional human rights mechanisms, but despite repeated efforts by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, access was not granted.
“The Russian Federation, being in effective control over the occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali is responsible for closing these regions from international monitors,” she said.
Permanent Representative of Georgia to the United Nations Ambassador Kaha Imnadze also delivered a statement at the UNGA 74 on the Report of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Ambassador Imnadze said Georgia welcomed the efforts of the Court to investigate alleged crimes in the context of the Georgian situation.
Upon the ratification of the Rome Statute, Georgia harmonized the relevant piece of domestic legislation with the provisions of the Rome Statute, passed a stand-alone law to create flexible legal frameworks specifically for cooperation with the Court, and signed specific cooperation agreements to promote the investigation process, Imnadze stated.
Georgia's representative stated that the Government of Georgia and the ICC have recently concluded an Agreement on the Enforcement of Sentences.
Under the agreement, persons convicted by the ICC may serve their jail sentence in Georgia, if so decided by the Court and accepted by the Georgian Government. “The Georgian prison system has thus joined the limited number of those designated by the ICC,” noted Imnadze.
Ambassador Imnadze emphasized that since 2017 Georgia has volunteered to contribute to the Victims Trust Fund for the support of victims and their families around the globe, including those of the aggression of the Russian Federation in 2008.
Georgia's delegate expressed gratitude to ICC for establishing an office in Tbilisi in 2017, the first ICC field office outside Africa. “The ICC investigation into crimes committed in Georgia during the Russian aggression in 2008 represents the first-ever case of the court entering Europe’s legal geography,” noted the Ambassador.
He expressed the readiness of the Georgian side to continue working with the ICC to finally serve justice after more than a decade.
“Government of Georgia stands ready to continue working with the ICC in ensuring that, after more than a decade, alleged crimes are effectively investigated and justice is served, for the victims of these heinous crimes deserve no less,” said Imnadze.
It is important that the Georgian representatives in the UN and other international organizations work tirelessly to keep the country on the international agenda, raising awareness about the ongoing human rights violations along the occupation line.
The Universal Periodic Review is a process involving a review of all UN Member States ' human rights records. A State-driven process, UPR is under the auspices of the Human Rights Council and gives each State the opportunity to declare what actions they have taken to improve their country's human rights situation and fulfill their human rights obligations. So far, Georgia has prepared two UPRs – in 2011 and 2015.